Boogie Girl
by DemonCat66
Summary: Sequel to 'The Fourth One'. Oogie has died at the hands of Jack and Mock wants revenge. Meanwhile, the other henchmen are delving into their pasts and a ghostly force is searching for Barrel. What will happen? Read to find out!
1. Dad Is Dead

Dad is Dead

Mock stared out the window, her raspberry hair fluttering in the breeze. Shock fluffed her indigo tangles loosely.

"Why don't you ever brush your hair, Shock?"

"Because she doesn't need to – she looks SHOCK-ingly beautiful anyway." Lock smirked.

"That was the worst pun ever made." Barrel frowned.

Mock tapped a finger on the ebony windowsill and blinked. "Huh?"

"What's up?"

"There's, like, a giant crowd outside."

Lock stalked over and peered out as well. "Looks like someone just came from outside of town."

"Well, what're we waiting for? Let's go see!"

Barrel groaned. "I can never finish my candy in peace, can I?"

The henchmen strolled casually into town. Barrel sucked loudly on a hard caramel, making Mock cringe in disgust.

There was an outdoor party of sorts at Skellington Manor. A banner read 'Welcome Skellingtons!' and there were lights and food set everywhere.

Lock stared. "Whoa. That's a lot of skeletons."

"Should we go in?"

Mock considered. "Well, I am Amy's half-sister, so this counts as my party too. C'mon."

She clambered over the stone fence.

"No, guys, wait!" Barrel hissed, but the others were already following her.

"Hi, Sally. What's going on?" Mock asked the rag-doll.

"Oh, hello Mock. Nothing much, just setting up for our family reunion." Sally smiled.

"SHOCK?"

Mock turned to see a lone boy skeleton looking at the witch. He had a messy pile of red hair twisted to one side.

"Oh, uh, hi, Jared." Shock stammered, cheeks burning. Lock's eyes narrowed as he tightened his grip on her arm. Mock stared. She had never seen either of them this out of character.

"Barrel! Barrel!"

She turned as another Skellington flung herself on Barrel.

"Olivella, please! We're in mixed company!"

This time, it was Mock's turn to be angry. She crossed her arms and stepped forward.

"Um, Barrel, who's this?" she said, fighting to keep her voice level.

"Er, this is Olivella. She's, uh, an old friend."

Mock narrowed her eyes.

"And who's this freak?" asked Judy from the corner.

"She looks really creepy." added Baylee.

"What a mutant." Jared added.

Mock's hand flew instinctively to her horn as she lowered her head. Barrel placed a hand on her shoulder, but she shook it off.

Lock stepped in front of her. "This here is Mock, Oogie's daughter. I highly suggest you watch your mouth if you don't want her to tear you apart."

Silence fell over the family.

Then they all erupted in hysterics.

Their laughs burned Mock's ears. She whimpered and pressed up against Barrel, shaking.

"HER? Hurt US?"

"That little twerp wouldn't scare a maggot!"

Mock growled. Embarrassment turned to hatred.

"Oh, yeah? Well, eat this!"

She pounced on the table and grabbed a kitchen knife. Trembling with rage, she threw at Tim. He wobbled and fell backwards, blood spurting from his arm.

She didn't stop. Mock leapt on the nearest Skellington – Jared – and began to furiously throw punches left and right.

"WELL, DON'T JUST STAND THERE! HELP ME!" he yelled.

War broke out between the lot. Though the Skellingtons were greater in number, the henchmen knew what the heck they were doing. As they tore each other apart, Amy grabbed Mock by the neck and wrestled her to the floor.

"Looks like you forgot about our truce, didn't you?" she snarled.

"You're the one with the nasty family." choked out Mock, struggling to breathe as the red-head's fingers tightened.

Suddenly, a strangled sound ripped through chaos. All fighting stopped and turned to see Barrel.

His hands were on his neck, and he was gasping and writhing. Suddenly, he collapsed on the floor.

"Ahh! Barrel!" Mock squeaked, throwing Amy off of her and rushing over. The other henchmen did the same.

Mock pushed against his chest, trying to get him to cough up whatever he had swallowed. He gave a great heave and spat the hard candy out.

She wrapped him close, shaking from fear. He breathed loudly.

Lock decided to draw the line there. "C'mon, guys. I ain't staying here with these assholes."

They all rose to their feet shakily and headed out.

Sally sighed. "Great. Fantastic. What will we do now, Jack? …Jack? Where's Jack?"

Back at the Old Oogie Home, Mock sighed and leaned against the wall.

"I'm sorry, guys. This was all my fault."

"Yeah, it sorta kinda is." Lock snapped.

"We'll have to tell Mr. Oogie Boogie." Shock added.

They migrated inside and headed to the lair.

"Dad? We need to talk." Mock called.

No answer.

"Dad? DAD! Where is he?" she looked about.

Her gaze fell upon a burlap sack sprawled over a desk.

"Ugh, he worked himself to sleep again." She walked over, "Dad? DAD!"

She shook him gently, but he didn't respond.

Suddenly, she saw something that made her blood run cold. A deep, gash-like hole was running down her father's back, revealing an empty inside.

"Wha – no! NO! Dad! Dad, wake up!"

Shock slowly put her hands up to the sides of her head. Lock gaped and Barrel clapped a hand to his mouth.

"No! NO! This can't be happening! Dad! Dad, please! Wake up!" Mock pleaded, lapsing into a younger girl again.

"N-no…Dad! DADDY! Daddy, please, wake up! Daddy!"

None of the others had ever heard Mock so broken or helpless. She tugged at Oogie's lifeless arm, sobbing.

"DADDY! NO, DADDY, NO! No…no…"

She sunk to the floor, wailing. Tears flowed like waterfalls from her eyes. Barrel kneeled down beside her, putting his arms around her.

Trauma filled every corner of Mock's body. "Daddy…daddy…"

Shock picked something off of the desk. Upon reading it, she hurriedly stuffed it in her pocket.

Mock remained on the floor with Barrel's arms around her for at least an hour. At long last, she gave a final hiccup and turned, red-eyed, to her lover.

"Who…who could have done this?" she whispered.

"I think I know."

Shock stepped forth and handed her the note she had picked up.

Mock peered through her tears and read it aloud.

"This…is the…last time you mess with the…Skellington…family."

It was signed with a loopy 'Jack'.

Fresh new pain, raw and dark, layered itself over her.

"J-Jack…did this?" Lock gasped.

She nodded. A monstrous anger had erupted inside of her.

Slowly, she got up and went to the window. Drawing a shaky breath, she spoke.

"I am…Mockingjay Boogie, am I not?"

The others cautiously nodded.

"And…we are…villains, right?"

Another nod.

"So…I – we – are not…gonna let them with this. Oh, no I'm not. This is the end of it all."

Her voice, formerly childish, broken, now rang out with full force.

"And I am going to finish what he started! Because I am Oogie Boogie's daughter and I will make ever last Skellington suffer for the rest of their undead lives!"

The henchmen sprang up, cheering and shouting.

"So, what's the plan, Ms. Boogie?" Lock asked.

Mock turned, her face burning with evil. "Kill them all."


	2. Mothers, Spiders and a Knife

Mothers, Spiders and a Knife

The eventual plan of the ex-Boogie's Boys was to lay low for a few days before launching a full-on attack on the Skellington Family. Until then, they would remain in the Old Oogie Home and manifest their raw anger and sadness.

Mock was busy stitching together another costume of sorts. She seemed truly bent on lashing out at anyone who bothered her, so they all left her alone.

Until one day.

Mock was seated on the bed. Barrel was sorting lollipops on the ground and Lock and Shock were leaned against the wall, murmuring to each other.

Out of the blue, Mock lifted her head.

"Do you guys remember your mothers?" she whispered.

The others started. "What?"  
>"I said, do any of you remember your mothers? You were bound to have come from somewhere, and I never knew what it was like to have one…"<p>

Silence. Then…

"I remember my mom." Lock said quietly. Shock and Barrel turned to him in surprise and Mock pricked her ears.

"She had pretty red hair, like mine. She would sit in an armchair in front of the fire and tell me stories while I played with my motorcycle toy. There was always one other chair that she never let anyone sit in. I asked her why, once, and she said she was waiting for my dad. I never saw him, though.

"Then, one day, she was gardening and I was playing. Someone swiped me and pulled me away before I could scream. They dragged me so far from home that I didn't know where I was anymore. I heard them saying stuff like 'hostage', 'ransom' and 'money'. I managed to get away, but then…" he shivered, "…then there was a bang and I went all cold and numb. When I woke up, I was here, and I became the first henchmen."

Shock paused, and then spoke up. "I remember my mother, too. I had five brothers and my dad liked to take them places without me. My mom would play with me and defend me when they teased me and was always there for me." She sniffed, "then one day, on Halloween, I dressed up as a witch and went trick-or-treating. I went by myself because my family was going to have a Halloween party. I didn't look both ways when I crossed the street and then..." she fell silent.

Amidst all this, Barrel's hands had flown up to his head and he had started shaking. He pulled himself into a tighter ball and whimpered.

"B-Candy? You okay, man?" Lock asked, concerned.

"I…I can't remember…why can't I remember? I don't remember what happened, or how I got here. I can't recall past meeting you two. But why?" he murmured feverishly.

Mock fell silent. "Well, it's fair to see that you all had better pasts than me."

She got up and went to her sowing station.

Suddenly Barrel blinked. "I do remember one thing…there were a lot of spiders."

A day later, the costume Mock was working on was done. It was a skinnier adaptation of Oogie sack, complete with a hat shaped like his head. She put it on and turned to the others.

"Get your masks; we're leaving at nine tomorrow morning."

At dawn, Mock sat on her bed, too restless to try to sleep. She kept replaying that moment in her head when she had realized Oogie was dead. Her heart ached.

Around 8:30, the others had yet to rise. Mock thought and thought and thought.

_Maybe I shouldn't take them,_ she thought, _maybe I should go alone._

She glanced at the wall clock. 8:45. Time to make up her mind.

She got up, tiptoed to the kitchen and grabbed the biggest knife she could find.

As she snuck out the back, the floorboards creaked beneath her feet. Barrel, a very light sleeper, looked up just in time to see her leave.

"LOCK! SHOCK! WAKE UP!"

The devil and the witch lifted their heads up sleepily. "What?"

"Stop shouting, man."

"Guys! Mock left just now without us!"

Lock sat up immediately. "You mean on her own?"

"Yes!"

"But we have to stop her then! Without our help they'll…they'll…" Shock didn't want to finish.

Barrel hesitated. "She…she won't listen to us. Not now, when she's so close to revenge."

"So whataya suggest we do?"

"Follow her. Don't let her see us and step in if there's a problem."

The three threw on their clothes and headed after her.

Mock hurried through town, tendrils of mist wrapping themselves around her legs. She kept drawing deep breaths to steady herself, growing anxious.

Skellington Manor loomed out of the fog, looking as threatening as a sleeping dragon.

The clattering of a trash can lid skittering on the cobbled stone walkway startled Mock out of her trance. Before she could lose her nerve, she scrambled up the drive.

Shock smacked Barrel upside the head. "Dumbass! She almost saw us!"

"Sorry! Sorry! Sheesh!"

Mock quietly slipped a hand under the doormat and removed the spare house key. She slid it into the keyhole and listened for the click. Silently, she tightened her grip on the knife and went in.

The other henchmen went up to the window and peered in.

She immediately saw her target – Jack was sitting on the couch with his back to her. Sally was sitting to his left.

Dark hatred bubbled up inside of Mock. So many promises broken, so much pain caused, just from one person! Disgust mixed with the hatred and made a deadly internal brew. She wiped her sweaty hands on her pants before slipping the knife into her mouth and crawling across the floor.

"…Where did you even go?" Sally was saying.

"Just out. I didn't expect anything to happen; otherwise I would have stepped in. Those kids are so irritating."

"Jack!"

"What? It's true! I regret lifting the ban on those _pests_!" he delivered the last word like an icy dagger.

Mock very slowly pulled herself up and readied the knife.

Suddenly, a voice pierced the silence. "DAD, LOOK OUT!"

It was Jared, standing on the staircase. Jack whipped around just Mock brought the knife down. It imbedded itself in the sofa and refused to come out. Sally screamed as Jared grabbed Mock's arms and held her fast. The other Skellington children rushed down as well.

"Let go of me, you son of a -!"

"WELL. Trying to kill me, now, were you? Well, we can fix that!"

Jack yanked the knife deftly out of the couch and pointed it at Mock's neck. Outside, the henchmen (still unnoticed) all gasped.

"Dad, no! Please don't do it!" Amy begged, clinging to Jack's arm. He shook her off.

"I should have done this long ago! Cut off a wolf's head and it still has the power to bite!"

A great crash came out of nowhere as Lock, Shock and Barrel piled on the door and pushed it down. Jared, who had been holding Mock near the door, was bumped forward.

The cold steel of the blade sank deep into Mock's stomach. Too shocked to feel any pain, she soundlessly collapsed to the floor.

"MOCK! Oh, no!" Barrel fell to the floor and grabbed her.

"Quick! C'mon!" Shock grabbed his arm and tugged him to his feet. They all raced from the house.

None of the Skellingtons had registered what had happened. All they had seen was a flurry of moments and three shapes rushing out the door.

Suddenly, Amy gasped and pointed to the floor.

A puddle of dark red blood stained the carpet.

Within minutes the henchmen had brought a still-silent Mock to Dr. Finkelstein's. He saw them stampede in and sighed.

"You guys really need to stop getting into mortally-threatening situations."

Mock had only felt cold when the knife had gone in. She didn't make a sound until the knife was pulled out, when she gasped suddenly at all the pain that spawned from nowhere.

The doctor wrapped her up tight with bandages and placed her on a bed. He turned to look at the other three and folded his arms.

"Now what happened?"

It took them a while to explain what had happened, but when they finished Dr. Finkelstein was silent. He scratched his brain thoughtfully.

"I see…well, I can understand Mock's motive for revenge, but this has cost her a lot. I hope she learned from this experience."

They all nodded.

"Do we have to?"

"Well, I can't have you three traipsing about at this hour. Off you go."

Mock had remained in what seemed like an anemic coma all day, and now it was nine in the evening.

"Can't one of us stay with her overnight?" Shock pleaded.

"…alright. But just one."

"I'll stay."

Barrel and Shock turned in surprise to face Lock. Before Barrel could protest, Dr. Finkelstein agreed.

"Okay, Lock will stay. Now the rest of you – scram!"

"But -!"

"**NOW**."

Sighing, the others left.

When he was sure they were both gone and Dr. Finkelstein had turned off the lights, Lock crawled onto the bed next to Mock and snuggled closer to her.

"Get well soon, you marvelous mess you."

And he kissed her cheek.


	3. Mommy

Mommy

Lock was in the midst of a strange dream. He was sitting at a desk, calmly sorting papers with his burlap arms when coldness settled over him. His entire body froze and he couldn't breathe. He felt like he was dying piece by piece.

"Mock…" he gasped. His voice was deep and raspy. It was…Oogie's voice.

"Mock…Mock…"

"What?"

The dream broke apart as Lock's eyes snapped open.

"_What?_"

Mock was still lying down, but she had turned to look at him. Their faces were uncomfortably close together. Lock blushed invariably.

"U-uh…um…err…"

"What are you doing?"

He noticed his hands were tightly wrapped around her waist. His face turned as red as his tail as he drew them away.

"O-oh…I-I…I was having a nightmare…"

Mock smirked. "Then why you were calling out my name? What was I doing?"

"N-nothing! I…I just…"

Mock blissfully changed the subject. "Whatever."

She rolled over and went back to sleep. However, Lock was too scared to even try.

A quick glance to the wall clock showed the time was 6:22 AM. Lock pushed himself up quietly and went to the window.

_Was that how Oogie died?_ He thought. _How horrible._

He dragged his finger through the dust, still cold.

"Psssst!"

Lock started. "Huh?"

"Down here!"

He looked down to see Shock. "What're you doin' here?" he hissed.

"Come down! I need to talk to you!"

He groaned but headed out anyway.

"What?"

"I want to go."

"Go where?"

"To see my parents."

Lock's jaw dropped. "Pardon?"

"C'mon, Lock! They must miss us so! We can at least respect them enough to visit."

"B-but they think we're dead!"

"So? We'll explain."

Lock bit his lip. "What about Mock?"

"Barrel can take care of her. We head out now, meet with them and spend the day and come back later! Easy as pie."

He paused for a moment to think. His un-beating heart ached.

"All right."

The two headed for the Tree Circle excitedly. Neither had any idea what they would do or what they would say, but they didn't care.

After exiting through the Halloween Door, they headed through the thick forest. Little critters stared at them as they passed by.

The trees grew less clustered as they moved forth. The smell of hot asphalt became apparent.

"Look! A road!"

Shock rushed out on the highway, once again not looking left or right. Lock rolled his eyes and followed, resisting the urge to tell her that she was repeating her mistakes.

"'Town – 3 Miles'. Looks like we're going thataway." she pointed down the road.

"But that'll take **forever**!" he complained.

And yet he obliged.

After a good hour of walking, both were extremely tired and hungry. Lock rubbed his stomach.

"Ugh…can we stop?"

"We're almost there. Just a little further."

Shock was right – rooftops were appearing in the distance. Suddenly energized, the two ran the rest of the way.

"My house was on the edge of town." panted Lock.

"Do you see it?"

He scanned the buildings and his eye fell on one. It was old and the paint was peeling.

"I think that one, but I need to check for something."

He quietly approached the mailbox and peered at it. Sure enough, a Sharpie doodle of a cat was in the corner. He dragged his finger over it.

"I made that when I was five…"

He turned to Shock. "I can't do it."  
>"YES, you can." she reassured, kissing him. He took a deep breath to steady himself and strode up the walkway. Before he could stop himself, he rang the doorbell.<p>

_Ding-dong._

Silence. Then a tiny voice sounded from behind the door.

"Yes?"

Lock took another breath. "Uh…I'm looking for someone."  
>"Who?"<p>

"A…young lady who used to live here."  
>A pause. Then,<p>

"What do you want with her?"

"I…I need to show her something."

"What 'something'?"

"…Myself."

A long pause.

Suddenly, the door slowly creaked open and a worried face peeked out. Lock drew in a sharp breath.

A thin, spindly woman stepped out. She was a head shorter than Lock and had an expression coated with sadness.

"Well?"  
>"…do you…remember me?"<p>

The woman peered closer at him. Then her eyes widened.

"…Lock?" she whispered.

He nodded, trembling.

She reached a hand out hesitantly and gently touched his cheek.

"You did come back…I knew you would…"

She rushed into his arms, wrapping him in a hug. Lock felt his eyes tear up as he returned the embrace. "Mommy…"

"Quick, come inside…"

She gently pulled him in, but not before he turned and gave Shock a smile. She grinned back and started walking to the other end of town.

Another half hour of walking and people staring later, she had reached a large mansion. It was the exact opposite of Lock's house – big, freshly painted and with a large garden. Shock pushed the gate open and hurried up the drive.

Upon ringing the doorbell, a sixteen-year-old dressed in housekeeping attire opened the door and sniffed disdainfully.

"Yeah, what do you want?"

Shock swallowed. "I'm looking for the owners of this house."

The girl sighed. "They're upstairs."

She moved aside to let her in. Shock stepped in and scrambled up the stairs. Remembering her way around automatically, she went into her parents' room.

Sitting in a bathrobe on the bed was a woman. Recognizing her immediately, Shock knocked on the door lightly.

The woman whipped around and gave a shriek. A mustached man in mid-shave rushed out of the bathroom.

"What's wrong?"

Then he saw Shock.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

"Wait."

The woman stepped closer. "…Sh-Shock?"

The man stared as Shock nodded.

"B-but…I thought..."

"Our baby has come home!"

The woman flung herself on Shock.

"Quick! Call the family and tell them to come right away!"

Soon, a full-blown family reunion was underway at the mansion. Shock sat down and explained every detail of her life up until then to her eager family.

Meanwhile, Lock was sitting in front of the fire as his mother listened silently to his story. When he was done, she leaned back.

"Well…I see. I'm glad you have such a nice life in Halloween Town."

Lock nodded, smiling.

Suddenly, she sat up. "Oh, silly me! How could I forget? There's something I need to show you."

Her hand, gentle as a moth, slipped into his and pulled him to the garage. She flicked on the light and he gasped.

In the garage sat a beautiful red motorcycle. It had shiny pistons and new paint.

"I bought this around your would-be sixteenth birthday. I've been dusting it everyday."

Lock stared in awe. It was just like the toy he had, and looked absolutely perfect.

Lost for words, he simply hugged his mom.

Around three in the morning, when everyone was asleep, Shock got out of the bed she had been assigned to and grabbed a pencil and pen. She hurriedly scrawled a note that said;

_Dear everyone,_

_Sorry I couldn't stay, but something's happening back home that I need to present for. I promise to visit as soon as I can!_

_~ Shock_

On an after thought, she added a humorous P.S;

_P.S. Those liquor chocolates were DISGUSTING!_

She headed down to Lock's after she was done. To her surprise, he was standing next to his bike with his mom by his side.

"…must you go?"

"I wish I didn't have to, but a friend of mine is really hurt at home, and I need to be with her. I promise I'll visit."

Shock stepped out of the shadow as Lock kissed his mom on the cheek. Noticing Shock, she whispered something in his ear that made him blush.

"Mom!"

"I'm just saying."

Lock put on a red helmet and tossed a purple spare to Shock. "C'mon."

As she hopped on and clung to Lock, he revved the engine and sped off, waving goodbye to his mother.

As they got on the highway, the sound of sirens could be heard. Apparently there were two police cars chasing them, one with one cop and another with two.

"Oh, for goodness' sake!"

Lock glanced over his shoulder, but instead of stopping he sped up.

"Lock! They're gonna arrest us!"

"Not on my watch."

When the sign that they had seen earlier came into view, they swerved abruptly onto the grass. The cars screeched to a stop and the police trampled after them.

"We can't take them to the Tree Circle! They'll discover Halloween Town!"  
>"Get off and go around! Try to lose 'em!"<p>

Shock leapt off and the two split up. The fat mustachioed policeman ran after Lock as the other two hurtled after Shock.

Lock pulled to a stop at the edge of a ravine, dangerously close to falling. The policeman huffed and puffed after him.

"Got you now, you little punk!"

Lock frowned and kicked the motorcycle into high gear. "No, you don't."

He angled the bike just right and grinned. "Porky."

Then he shot back into the woods, leaving a dumbfounded cop behind.

Shock wasn't faring nearly as well. She had gone through a clump of brambles and was growing tired. The cops were hot on her trail.

She tripped and fell over as they caught up.

"Haha! Got you!"

Shock gasped.

A growl split the air. The cops looked up and screamed.

An enormous grey wolf pulled itself out of its nest, where Shock could see two newborn pups fast asleep. She stepped over Shock and snarled at the police-wimps, who ran away yelping.

The wolf turned to Shock. "Nice doggy…" she whispered.

It licked her cheek and settled back in its den. Shock slowly got up and walked away.

After meeting up with Lock, the two headed back to Halloween Town. They rode through the streets on the motorcycle and pulled up at Dr. Finkelstein's. When they went up the stairs, they were greeted by Barrel.

"WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?"

The two panted. "We…we were…"

"YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED WE WERE?"

If looks could kill, the two would be dead.

"I'm sorry…" Lock murmured.

"DAMN RIGHT YOU'RE SORRY."

"Cut it out, Barrel." Mock chided. She was sitting up now, and some color had returned to her cheeks.

"C'mon, guys. Where were you?"  
>The other 'Ocks sat down and told their story.<p> 


	4. Heartbeat

Heartbeat

Barrel leaned against a wall. It had been a week since Mock had come home, and everything had pretty much fallen into place after that. She had shown no sign of wanting further revenge on the Skellingtons, so at least that idea was out of the way. Barrel now was stuck with another problem – jealousy. After hearing about Lock and Shock's successes with their parents (not to mention Lock now had a _motorcycle_, that arse), envy had sat in his stomach like a poisonous toad. Why could they remember their past and not him? Why did he only recall 'spiders'? And why did he get a shiver down his spine every time he thought he remembered something?

Regardless, the annual Halloween celebration was now underway, and everyone was excited. Mock had even decided to join the henchmen instead of staying home. As a special new Halloween segment, the younger children would be performing a cutesy kid version of Jack's original story in a play. The teens would be stage crew, much to Shock's annoyance.

"It should be the other way around! They don't even remember half of their damn lines!"

But, of course, everyone was forced to put up with it. And now Barrel was leaning against a stone wall with a bag full of candy, waiting impatiently for the annual ceremony to end.

As Jack started his final performance, Mock came over and tapped Barrel's shoulder. "Hey, Mock."

"Why aren't you pigging out like you usually do?"

"Not hungry."

She did a double take. "What? You're always hungry for candy!"  
>He shrugged. "You can have it." He held out the bag.<p>

Mock stared. "Uh…okay."

As she turned and walked away, Jack finished his unoriginal-as-heck performance and stepped onto the podium. "Thank you all for yet another wonderful Halloween! And now I am pleased to announce that the children of Halloween Town have put together a special drama for us all to view! As a reminder, it begins in half an hour at the Amphitheatre."

Barrel was for some reason tempted to throw a rock at Jack's head. His finger wrapped around a loose pebble on the wall.

"And now, time for awards. Mayor, if you will."

A stone whizzed through the air and smacked his skull.

"AH! Son of a pumpkin! Who did that?"

He scanned the rock wall, but no one was there.

A half-hearted orchestra was playing the overture as people filed into the open air theatre. Lock, feeling a need to break the tension, settled on a joke.

"Hey, guys."

"What?"

"What's the difference between puberty and a water bottle?"

Shock blinked. "Um, everything?"

"No."

Mock: "The water bottle doesn't have to deal with acne, mood-swings and middle school?"

"Nope. The water bottle hit Justin Bieber first."

Every teen in the place collapsed in hysterics.

"More like Justin Beaver!" laughed Mock.

Barrel made a face. "You guys are such **dorks**."

"You would know something about that, Barrel."

"Shut up!"

Amy ran in. "Guys! The opening is started!"

The happiness vanished like mist under a hot lamp.

"Right…"

The job of the stage crew was annoyingly stupid – help with hats, clean the stage, and poke the light switches. Tim, in charge of the curtain, had brought a copy of 'Nightmare Dolls' to read, Amy was more busy with her cell phone than with the props, and Mock was eating candy and one-handedly multitasking.

Barrel sighed and grabbed a broom as 'This is Halloween' started up. He stirred a cloud of dirt and it made him cough.

"Ugh…stupid dust."

As he waved the cloud away, one puff remained in the air. As the full moon's light filtered through it, it turned a soft shade of bluish-white and solidified.

"Huh?"

The puff wriggled and morphed. It split apart into a million little droplets, each of which began to writhe and shift. Barrel took a step back in fear.

"Wha… what the…"

The drops transformed into ghostly cats, fluttering about leisurely.

"Isssss he the one?" whispered one.

"Yessssss, I can sssssmell hissssss heart…" hissed another.

One fluttered close to Barrel's face and stared at him with its soulless eyes.

"Our ssssearch isssss over…we will take back what is ourssss…"

"Make hissssss heart beat…then Masssster will ssssseek him out…"

"Wha…who are you? What do you want?" Barrel asked, his voice turning shrill.

"Remember…with each beat of your heart, remember…"

The creatures suddenly rose up and swirled about him, screaming and howling. A sudden coldness layered itself over his body, numbing his senses. It felt horrible, and he was convinced that he was dying piece by piece.

The chill touched his heart and it twitched.

_**And began to beat.**_

Each beat racked his body painfully. The foreign sensation was excruciatingly agonizing as it ripped through his systems. Blood that had flowed through his veins automatically now bent to the almighty will of the organ. Air that had simply gone in and out of his lungs as it pleased now was sucked in ravenously.

As the ghosts drew away, Barrel collapsed to the ground, gasping. A hand flew up to his chest as he felt his heart gently continue pulsing as the pain ebbed away.

"Now that the Kree hasssss done itsssss job…"

"Masssster will find the vanished one…"

Then they transformed into dust.

Barrel lifted himself up and shivered. "I…I'm alive?"

The words sounded strange, and they hung in the air tauntingly.

The feeling of life was awkward and odd, but was also familiar and welcome. Warmth flooded his cold body as he reflected on the ghosts' words.

_Now that the Kree has done its job…Master will find the vanished one._

Master? Who was 'Master'? And what were those things? Kree?

Suddenly, it hit him. **KREE.**

Realization struck him full force as he remembered…remembered everything.

Kree.

Master.

Spiders.

Dr. Ghost's Freak Circus.


	5. Hell

Hell

Barrel leaned against the wall, breathing hard.

_No…no, it can't be! He can't have found me! I…I…I_

Growing dizzy, his sweaty grip on the broom slipped and he fell to the floor, smacking his head on the wooden slots. As blackness clouded his brain, all the memories he had worked so hard to forget resurfaced, digging themselves deep into his head.

"Ha, ha! Little Barrel's never gonna get adopted!"

"No one wants him! Not even his own mommy!"

The children shrieked with laughter as Barrel covered his ears.

"Stop it!" he begged, starting to cry.

"What's that? Did crybaby Barrel just tell me to _shut up_?" said one of the boys. His fist collided with Barrel's face, knocking into the stairs. Desperate, he turned to the Warden, who calmly leaned against the banister and did nothing.

Unable to bear it, he ran up the stairs and into the broom closet he called home. The other orphans' laughter rang in his ears.

_Oh, mom. Why'd you hafta give me up? Why didn't you want me?_

Sniffling, Barrel wiped his snotty face on the back of his hand. Did no one really care for him? It was almost as if he was doomed to be neglected forever.

Tears slithered down his face, burning the bruise on his cheek where the bully's hand had struck him.

Sitting in a broom closet on the second floor, sleeves soaking up his tears, Barrel stared at the cobwebs littering the place. A lone, fuzzy spider sat on one, staring at him somberly.

"I…I'm sorry, Squibbles. I just…hate them so much."

He held out his hand and the spider scuttled onto it. He held the tiny arachnid up to his face.

"You're such a good friend, Squibbles."

The door blew open as the bullies looked in.

"_Look! _Little Spider Boy is talking to his pets! How cute!"

In a swift move, the leader yanked Squibbles from Barrel's grasp, readying himself to crush the bug underfoot.

"NO!" Barrel begged, lunging forward. The others caught him and held him back, laughing.

Suddenly, a scream ripped through the air. "Fire! **FIRE!**"

The bullies paled and ran. Barrel pounced forward, grabbing the spider as it fell.

"Got you!"

Smoke began billowing up to the second floor, clouding his vision. Coughing, he doubled over, keeping a tight hand on the spider.

Fire began to lick his body, burning his skin and clothes. Barrel toppled over, agonized.

Was it his imagination, or was that an icy hand wrapping itself around him?

_Was it the Reaper?_

Cold air pressed against him, inflating his lungs again. Gasping, he couldn't open his heavy eyelids as he went numb.

"There, there…you're alright…" whispered a voice.

As Barrel slipped into unconsciousness, he thought he was saved.

**Nothing could be further from the truth.**

When Barrel awoke, the first thing he felt was hot. Cracking an eye open feebly, he sat up. Lying on a cot, he looked down on himself.

His skin was red and blistery and he felt like he was going to throw up at any giving minute. Groaning, he opened his hand.

_No Squibbles._

Panicking, Barrel launched himself out of bed, looking about frantically.

"Squibbles? Where are you?"

"Calm down, there! You wouldn't want to make yourself sicker, would you?" an English voice asked.

Barrel looked up to a thin, spindly, pale man. He tipped his top hat to the boy.

"Are you looking for your spider? I set him up in the corner."

Barrel turned to see the small arachnid, sitting calmly on a large web. He sighed in relief.

"What's your name? My name is **Dr. Ghost.**"

"Uh…Barrel."

"I have the serum ready. Do you want to do it now?"

Confused, Barrel turned to the man. "Do what?"

The man paused. "It's...ah...for your burns. Just some medication."

Barrel bit his lip. Something about the doctor's voice seemed...unpleasant. Like he was lying.

Dr. Ghost held out his skinny, pale hand. "Come."

Barrel slowly slipped his hand. He shivered when he felt the man's cold skin.

Dr. Ghost gently pulled him down the hall, keeping him steady. Barrel fought his nausea as he followed him into another room.

All kinds of chemistry equipment littered the place. Test tubes, beakers and alembics full of various unnamable fluids.

"Now where did I put it...ah! Here it is!"

He held up a large syringe, one as big as Barrel's arm. He quivered.

"Would you please pull up your sleeve?"

Barrel slowly yanked up his shirt sleeve and held his arm out.

_Don't worry, Barrel. This will all be over soon. _he told himself.

The needle pierced his skin.

It felt like a glacier had wrapped itself around him, penetrating his very core. With a gasp, he collapsed, groaning. His heart began to ache and hurt incomparably, feeling like it was exploding.

Barrel fell to his knees, coughing and groaning. Between his excruciated gasps, he could the maniacal laughter of the doctor, joyous at his experiment having gone right. He felt blackness hardening his heart as his vision spun out of control and away from him.

When Barrel awoke, he could feel his hair sticking to his sweaty forehead. He was lying on a simple mat on the floor of a cage - no, a cell. He looked down upon his clothes.

His t-shirt and shorts had been swapped with a matching skeleton outfit, and his shoes had been torn off. Instead, his deformed feet were easily visible past his long pants.

"So deformed in Death...so broken and hopeless and fading."

Dr. Ghost leaned against the bars of the cage door. "But no one can hear you scream in Hell."

Barrel hesitated, before angrily throwing himself at the bars.

"You monster! What did you do to me?"

Dr. Ghost smiled amiably. "Feel your pulse, love."

Barrel reluctantly put a hand to his chest.

**No beat.**

With a gasp, he flung himself away from Dr. Ghost. "You've KILLED me!"

"No, just made you undead. Like a zombie, I suppose."

Barrel gritted his teeth and swiped at the well-dressed man, ripping off a bit of his cloak.

For the first time since he had seen him, Dr. Ghost's face darkened. Those soulless white eyes that peered out from a blue bandana wrapped around his head grew angry.

"That...was my new suit."

Before Barrel could blink, the doctor grabbed him and dragged him down the hall.

"Hey, what're you doing? Lemme go!"

He was flung unceremoniously onto a chair, and metal cuffs were wrapped tightly around his wrists and ankles.

"What are you doing?"

"Putting you in your place." snarled Dr. Ghost.

Electricity raged and ripped through Barrel's body. He screamed and felt tears leaking down his face, which only bettered the electric travel. Heat exploded over his initially cold body, till he felt like he was engulfed in the fire again.

When the pain finally subsided, Barrel sobbed uncontrollably. Dr. Ghost removed him with obvious disgust.

"Next time you resist **me**,you'll be feeling more than electricity. Understand?" he thundered.

Barrel, still wailing, nodded.

Dr. Ghost dragged him back to his cell and deposited him on the floor.

The next month was, as the doctor had ordered, Hell. Barrel met all the various children who had been snatched from their burning homes (of course, it had been Dr. Ghost himself that had set the fires). He had conducted savage experiments on orphaned children (Uwe-Boll reference) and the offspring of neglectful parents. Some, like Sara, had been genetically adjusted to have two heads. Others, like Mike, had become half monster.

All just for Dr. Ghost to get money from his freak circus.

Once every week, the doctor would hold a showing for all.

"MUAHAHA! Welcome to Dr. Ghost's Freak Circus! Home of those neglected by the soft caress of nature!" he raved, showing the oglers to their seats.

The children would be forced to do torturous tasks for the enjoyment of the viewers. Many of the children would be dead by the time the night was through; one would fall into the meat grinder as they crossed the tightrope. Another would catch fire from the fire hoops they were leaping through. Dr. Ghost even intentionally missed during the knife throwing session and hit Billy in the eye.

People watching only would laugh. It was **sickening.**

One night, Barrel was assigned to the tightrope. The 'Kree', Dr. Ghost's pet phantoms, fluttered about him as he readied himself to cross the tiny wire.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, I have a very special surprise for you!" cackled Dr. Ghost. "Witness what I have installed in place of the meat grinder!"

The cover was swept away, revealing a pit of _black widows._ Barrel trembled.

The fans screamed, adoring it.

Barrel took a tentative step out and wobbled his way forward a few steps. He kept glancing down, seeing the pit of venomous arachnids in the pit below.

It was an improbably far way to fall.

Barrel gulped loudly and took another step.

The events that had happened over the past few days came rushing back to him, full force. The effect was similar to having a sledgehammer thrown at your face, and he took a step back.

A collective 'ooo' rose from the audience.

Barrel went slack. _It would be so much better to die and rid myself of this torture._

Then his eyes widened. _Of COURSE. Why didn't I think of it before?_

He calmly put a foot forward and fully missed. A brief sense of panic rose as his foot fell through the air, connecting with nothing. At the last second, he grabbed hold of the wire.

The crowd gasped and squealed in glory.

Barrel felt the tiny wire cutting into his palms. Blood slithered down his arm. Looking down, he went aquiver.

_C'mon, you big baby! Let go!_

Barrel breathed in sharply as one hand slipped off. The fans gasped.

He swallowed loudly and started loosening his bloody finger tips.

The audience was going mad. Dr. Ghost stared up at him, eyes burning.

Barrel let go.

As he fell, the onlookers collapsed into hysterics. Above it all was the raging scream of Dr. Ghost.

"**I'LL FIND YOU!** I'LL FIND YOU AND PUT YOU BACK WHERE YOU BELONG!" he yelled.

The spiders buried their fangs into Barrel's skin and the world spun out of control.

When Barrel awoke, he was lying on hard soil. Looking up, he exhaled fearfully. A white cloud of vapor hovered in front of his mouth.

The rooftops of a town towered over him as he raised his head. Crawling to his feet, he shivered in the cold air.

He got to his feet, looking at the monsters eyeballing him from far off. Barrel stared at the deep cuts in his frostbitten hands.

Shock set in as he realized what he had done.

_Oh my God. I'm __**dead**__._

Barrel dug his fingers into his head.

_...I'll find you..._

Dr. Ghost's final words haunted him. Dizzy, he leaned against the brick wall beside him.

A few hours later, he felt something on his shoulder. He looked up fearfully.

A strange, burlap monster towered over him, his gaping eyeholes staring out at him like endless pits.

"...you lost?"

"...no...yes."

The monster kneeled down beside him. "Do you want a place to stay?"

Barrel's 'stranger danger' knowledge kicked in, but he was so desperate he nodded before he could stop himself. The monster, who introduced himself as Oogie Boogie, slipped its paw gently into his hand and pulled him up. Barrel started shaking like mad on the way to the creature home, gasping and grabbing at his head. He glanced his way suspiciously before offering him a lollipop.

_Sugar?_

He took the candy in his icy finger and stuck the 'cavity-on-a-stick' in his mouth. After a month of nothing but dusty water and stale bread, even the slightest amount of sugar gave him enough energy to fly. He calmed down immediately as Oogie thought to himself.

_He seems completely out of it._

As Oogie escorted him back to the Old Oogie Home, he noticed two other kids playing outside. One was dressed in all red, and the other wore a purple dress.

"I'd like you to meet your two new friends – Lock and Shock."

He nudged Barrel closer. "Go on."

Barrel approached them cautiously. "Um, hi…"

The girl whipped around with a scream, smacking him on the head with her broom. He fell to the ground, fading into blackness.

_I'll find you…I'll find you…_

"Is he dead?"

"Can't be. He's already dead."

Barrel opened an eye wearily. "Huh?"

"Oh yay! You're awake!" squealed the girl, brushing her tangled hair out of her eyes.

He sat up, rubbing his forehead. A big lump was in the middle.

"Sorry about that. Err, I'm Shock." said the girl.

"And I'm Lock." added the boy.

"…Barrel…" he replied, feeling confused. His head was like a jumbled radio of memories.

Memories he couldn't remember.

All he remembered was **spiders**…and a burning, white-hot fear.

And now, a much older Barrel opened his eyes. Lying on the cold wooden floor, he felt an excruciating headache threatening to split his head in two.

Groaning, he pulled himself up.

_I'll find you…I'll find you…_

"Well, well, well."

Before Barrel could turn around, an icy hand pressed against his mouth as another clasped his hands behind his back.

Barrel struggled briefly, scared out of his witless, when he felt a sharp prick on his arm. Darkness clouded his vision as he began to slump down.

"Oh no…not again." he murmured sluggishly.

"Oh yes. Again." said Dr. Ghost.


	6. Demons and Bullets

Demons and Bullets

Barrel felt sick and disoriented when he woke up. Unable to open his eyelids, which felt like lead pipes on his eyes, he groaned.

"Ugh...what time is it?"

"Time...for revenge."

His eyes snapped open as he writhed reflexively.

Dr. Ghost grinned and leaned in close. "Hello, Barrel. How is my favorite runaway?"

His breath smelled of snow and dust. Barrel wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"I see someone lost their razor."

Indeed; Dr. Ghost had grown a small goatee and bushy mustache. The doctor stroked his tiny beard and smirked. "Do you like it? I was going for a 'Jack the Ripper' look."

Barrel, growing tired of useless banter, angrily snapped.

"Why'd you make me living again? I thought I was 'the living-dead boy'. Having a beating heart defeats the purpose."

The doctor cackled. "Well, it certainly hurts more to take a bullet when you're _alive _rather than _dead_."

Barrel winced. This was true. When Lock had been struck by the glass shard thrown by Mock, he had been bleeding like mad, but when he reflected on it, he had passed out from blood loss and shock, not really pain.

Barrel tried to push himself up, but he was held in place by metal handcuffs. Panicking, he realized he was sitting in the infamous electric chair.

"Now, are we going to do this the easy way...or the hard way?"

"P-please...n-no..." Barrel stammered fearfully.

Dr. Ghost smiled and raised his hand above the table that operated the machine.

Barrel struggled fruitlessly. "W-what do you want from me?"

"Just to see if you have forgotten who your superiors are." said the phantom, leaning on the button.

Pain ate Barrel up as red and white sparks exploded in his vision. He screamed in agony.

"STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT! **PLEASE!**" he begged, smoke filling his lungs. "I PROMISE TO DO WHATEVER YOU WANT! JUST PLEASE STOP!"

The pain stopped abruptly as Barrel broke into a coughing fit. Gasping and moaning, he felt Dr. Ghost's icy hand on his burning skin.

"Oh...you're on fire."

The doctor nonchalantly licked his fingers and put out the tiny flame on Barrel's shoulder.

"Welcome back to the Circus."

Barrel's first performance was that evening. All he could think about was Mock and the others.

_They must be so worried._

"AH! Let go of me, you mofo!"

There was a smack and a cry of pain.

"You'll do well to clean your mouth with SOAP, young lady!"

Dr. Ghost threw a flurry of clothes and black hair into the cell next to him. The thing he threw - a girl - smacked the wall headfirst and slithered to the ground, leaving a trail of blood on the wall. Barrel clapped a hand to his mouth.

The doctor threw a black cat into the cell beside her. It hissed and bared its teeth, bat wings held high on its arched back.

_Wait...bat wings?_

Dr. Ghost locked the door and left huffily.

Barrel approached the cage wall worriedly. "Um...are you okay?"

/No, she's not okay, you idiot!/ he thought to himself.

To his surprise, a bright red glow surrounded the girl's head. With a groan, she sat up.

**There wasn't a mark on her head.**

"Stupid little...UGH!"

She angrily stood up and kicked the wall. "When I get my hands on that bi -!"

"HOW DID YOU DO THAT?"

She turned in surprise. "Huh?"

"Your BRAINS were painting the wall, and you're perfectly fine now! How did you do that?"

She smirked. "Demon magic. I'm a Deko. The name's **Rasha,** and this here is Graymalkin."

"Barrel. A demon? I've read about those...aren't they invincible to everything?"

"Except suicide and death by natural causes, like old age."

"That's so cool!"

Rasha smiled and blew a stray strange of black hair out of her eyes. "No biggie."

He caught a glimpse of her eyes, which were red and soulless. A tiny blush sneaked onto his face. Desperate for conversation, he blurted out the first thing that came to his mind.

"So, uh, how'd you land here?"

The night fell as Dr. Ghost welcomed various spectators to view his /freaks./ Barrel tugged at his new skeleton outfit.

"Ugh, stupid thing."

"What's wrong with it?" asked Rasha, feeling mighty exposed in her ballerina-esque costume.

"It's real itchy, and it bunches in my -."

"Alright, I need the fire act now. Rasha, you're on." Dr. Ghost said, peeking in.

The demon-girl sighed and tugged at the loose strap that had slipped down past her shoulder. Barrel blushed.

She skipped out all angel-like and waved to the audience casually. A cheer flew up from the males in the stands, followed by a _wolf whistle_ from one. She rolled her eyes as she stretched and leapt through a flaming hoop.

Barrel leaned against the banister and sighed lovingly. Immediately he rubbed his head angrily.

"Stupid! You have a _girlfriend!"_

Rasha finished her act and bowed, simultaneously brushing out the fire on her skirt. A smattering of applause rose from the boys while the girls hunkered down in their seats, crossing their arms.

She scampered back and exhaled irritably, changing from a sarcastic yet happy lady to a glowering, angry teen.

"Damn boys...can't keep their eyes off a girl when they see one, can they? Am I just Susanna from 'Miss Temptation'? Lucky I didn't tear 'em apart, little assholes."

As she stomped off to change, one of the mutated boys waiting for his turn on stage brushed his fingers against her rear. With a growl of disdain, she whipped around with a "GODDAMMIT!" and punched him in the face, knocking him into the table behind him.

Barrel winced, glad he hadn't given into his pervy side.

That evening, Dr. Ghost was pleased with the fact no one died that evening, and was willing to everyone talk a bit before curfew.

Rasha inched closer to the bars. "I can't TAKE it anymore! We need to get out of here."

"_How?_" Barrel asked worriedly.

Smiling, she winked as she held up a pebble.

"...wait, Rasha, DON'T!"

She chucked it through the bars and hit a lamp on the table across the way.

"What was that?" Dr. Ghost spat, marching up to the cage with his back to Rasha. In a swift move, she grabbed the keys from his pocket and slipped them into hers without a sound.

"Damn lamp...always falling over." Dr. Ghost growled. "I'll have to go to the storeroom to fetch a new one."

He turned and headed off down the corridor.

The sounds of a key turning in a lock echoed in the emptiness. Rasha slipped into the hall excitedly as she let Barrel out.

"Quick, let's go!" he said.

"Wait, we should let the others go!" she hissed.

She raced down the hall, freeing each intimate in record time. The other freaks looked at her gratefully.

"Quick, let's go!" Barrel whispered.

Dr. Ghost's voice floated down the hallway. "I seemed to have dropped my keys, and...**WHAT?"**

His voice rose, rattled the rafters. Shaking with rage, he let loose an inhuman screech.

"GET THEM!"

"Run!" shouted Rasha.

The mutants took off, racing to the door. Rasha grabbed Barrel's hand and pulled him at lightening speed towards the door.

As they scrambled out, the Kree fluttered about. They transformed into ghostly soldiers and began firing their guns at the escaping forms.

"Quick! Malky!" Rasha called.

The cat used its demon transforming ability to puff up in size. She leapt onto his back and pulled Barrel up in front of her.

Dr. Ghost rushed out, eyes blazing. "What are you waiting for? **SHOOT THEM!"**

One of the Kree soldiers aimed and shot at them. Rasha saw the bullet whizzing at them from the corner of her eye, and pushed Barrel down. The bullet struck the back of her head and, with a cry of pain, she fell to the side, tumbling off of the cat and smacking the rocky ground.

"Gah! Graymalkin! We need to go back!" Barrel squeaked. The cat whipped around and ran for Rasha.

The Kree shot him in the shoulder, but the demon cat stormed forward. Barrel grabbed her as they ran by and hauled her up. Red sparks began to form on the back of her head.

Distracted, Barrel didn't notice the Kree aim and fire at him. The bullet wedged itself into his _stomach._ With a gasp of agony, he grabbed his stomach and leaned to the left, threatening to fall off. At the last moment, Rasha wearily opened her eyes anr, realizing what had happened, grabbed Barrel and pulled him close.

"Hang on, Barrel!" she called as Graymalkin took off into the woods.

Dr. Ghost's raging screams echoed behind them.

Graymalkin finally slowed to a stop when he was quite far from the circus. Panting, he wobbled as he shrunk back to his normal size.

Rasha pulled Barrel up, examining the wound in his stomach. "No worries, Barrel. We'll have you right as rain in no time."

Graymalkin used his demon magic to pull the bullet out of his shoulder and deposited it on the floor. He sniffed it and miaowed worriedly.

"What is it, Malky?" Rasha asked absently.

"Mrow!"

Her red eyes widened. "What?"

She grabbed the bullet Graymalkin had pulled out and sniffed it.

"**POISON?**"she exclaimed, panicking, "Oh no! We have to get Barrel to Halloween Town, stat!"


	7. Necrophilia

Necrophilia

Rasha, gripping tight to Barrel, raced on Graymalkin through the woods. Barrel had told her that she needed to find the Tree Circle and take the pumpkin shaped door in order to get to his home town. She just hoped he wouldn't _bleed out_ before she got there.

Finally, Graymalkin slowed and miaowed loudly. Rasha looked around and eyeballed the area.

"There! There's the Tree Circle! Quick!"

The demon cat shot off in the direction she was pointing and turned in a frantic circle as Rasha leapt off and pried open the door with the Jack-O-Lantern face. As she opened it, a blast of cool fall air, scented with the moist smell of old leaves, made her hair flutter and rippled.

"C'mon!"

She scrambled through as Graymalkin followed her hurriedly. After closing the door, she jumped onto the cat's back again and tightened her grip on Barrel's arm as they hurtled onward. Barrel had told her (rather somberly) that he lived in a place called the Old Oogie Home. It was on the edge of town - you couldn't miss it.

Not wanting to disturb the Halloween Town residents, Graymalkin opened his _enormous_ wings and beat them loudly, rising into the air with ease. He flew through the air like a dark dragon. If it hadn't been for the bleeding mess clasped tightly in Rasha's fingers, she would have grinned and spread her arms like Astrid from /'How to Train Your Dragon'/.

The bat-winged cat landed neatly as Rasha leapt off and stared at the ominous towering lair. She frowned.

"Lame."

She gently scooped up Barrel and hurried to the secret ladder that he had told her about. She started to climb up, but her fingers were so slick with blood she kept slipping.

When she finally yanked herself up and lifted the trapdoor, the first thing she heard was crying.

"Please, Mock, I'm sure he's fine. Maybe he just needed some time off." said the tall, purple-dressed one.

"But why? What did I do? Was it something I said?" wailed the one with raspberry hair. The one with the devil tail remained quiet.

Rasha cleared her throat. "Ahem."

The three figures turned in surprise to her.

"Gah! Who are _you?_" squeaked the witch.

"You mind helping me out? An eighteen-year-old kinda heavy for a fourteen-year-old."

No one moved; they were too confused. Rasha, grumbling, finally pulled Barrel.

The devil reacted first, surprisingly. "Oh my God! **Barrel!"**

He ran over and grabbed Barrel, hoisting him up. The other two snapped out of it, immediately rushing over.

"What happened to him?"

"Shot. With a poison bullet." Rasha said, sticking her bloody fingers in her mouth. The taste of iron flooded her mouth, coupled with the odd taste of neurotoxins.

"Oh my gosh! We need to get him to Dr. Finkelstein's!"

"No."

The room froze as the devil quietly repeated himself. "No."

"B-but Lock!"

"Listen, Mock."

He grabbed Mock's hand and placed her hand against Barrel's chest.

The faint **ba-dum** of a pulse played under her fingers.

She gasped and drew back. "W-what? His heart - but how?"

"The Kree." Rasha explained.

"The what?"

Rasha spent the next half an hour quietly explaining what had happened to the three henchmen as Lock gently cradled Barrel. Shock kept glancing his way worriedly, looking a tad jealous.

"...and then he shot Barrel. I realized the bullet was poisonous, so I got it out of him and we ran for it. I hope he'll be okay, but I couldn't be sure."

Mock silently crumpled the tissue she'd been holding and nodded. The demon girl glanced back as Barrel moaned and coughed, a dribble of blood leaking out of the corner of his mouth.

"But why not take him to Dr. F's?" Shock asked, addressing Lock.

"The heartbeat. All of Dr. F's stuff is made for dead people. It won't do anything."

He paused, tapping his finger on the carpet. "I...I have an idea."

Mock: "What?"

"I don't know if it'll work, but if my knowledge is correct, it should -."

"WHAT?"

"Well, if Dr. Ghost used the Kree to _re-create_ Barrel's heartbeat post his death, right?"

Rasha nodded, "Right."

"Then maybe, just **maybe,** if Barrel's heart _stops_ beating, maybe it'll stop hurting and he'll be okay."

Rasha scratched her head. "I...guess...but how do you know it won't just do him on for good?"

"Because he already died! If he died and ended up here, then logically the same thing will happen!"

Mock bit her lip. "You sure?"

Lock nodded vigorously.

Rasha stood up. "Well, I know one way to quickly /do him in,/ if you'll let me."

"If it's as painless as possible..." Mock murmured.

Rasha grabbed a knife from the table and cleaned it off on her shirt. Lock stiffened.

"I thought you said quick!"

The Deko frowned. "I know what I'm doing, just shut up for a moment."

She swiftly drew the knife against her palm as blood pooled in her hand.

"Demon saliva helps submit the demon virus, but demon blood, if injected or drunk, will quickly kill any animal or human. Hence why no animal hunts demons for food except other demons."

She used her clean hand to lift up Barrel's head.

"Normally, a non-demon ingesting demon blood would lead to a **violently painful and rather bloody death**" - here Mock and Lock stiffened visibly - "but since I'm a _Deko_ - formed from the mixing of blood between a demon and a human, not through a bite - and not a _demon_ or a _human bit by a demon_, my blood is a little more diluted, and has the same effect as a dog being put down. No pain, just death."

Lock winced as she angled her hand and poured the dark blood into Barrel's mouth. He swallowed loudly and licked his lips, smiling faintly.

"Demon blood tastes sweeter than normal blood; although, to be honest, Barrel's eats so much candy that his blood is even more demon-y in taste than mine is."

Lock stifled a giggle.

Barrel moaned once more before sighing weakly and going slack. Mock instinctively teared up.

"Wait a moment." Rasha reassured them.

Barrel suddenly opened his eyes and sat up, grinning.

"H-hey, Rasha. Wanna stay for dinner?"

"Are you sure you need to go?"

Rasha nodded, stroking Graymalkin's silky coat. "Mmm-hmm. I need to go back to Dr. Ghost's."

Barrel's eyes widened. "What? Why?"

"Well...if you must know, he...he actually...**killed my parents."**

Barrel tried to swallow, but found it hard with the knot growing in his throat.

"He thought he killed me in the blaze too, but I survived thanks to my Deko-ness. I've been trying to find him all these years, just so I rip him apart with my own two hands."

It was unsettling how fast Rasha changed from a cheerful teenager to a dark, serial murderer.

"...well, I'd best be going." she said, snapping back into happy mode. She climbed onto Graymalkin's back.

"...hold on."

Barrel reached into his pocket and yanked out a small jack-o-lantern toy from his pocket.

"Here."

He slipped it into her pale hand, giving lopsided smile. "Thank you...for saving my life - err, death."

Rasha laughed melodiously. "Thanks, _B-Candy._ I'll keep in touch!"

Graymalkin rose into the air and flew off.

Around six o'clock, Lock and Shock decided to go watch a movie together at the 'town cinema' whilst Barrel and Mock did whatever they wanted. Barrel flopped back on his bed, waiting for his girlfriend to show up and play a game with him.

After five minutes, he got annoyed.

"...dammit, Mock! Where are you?"

"Right here."

He sat up. "Finally! I was beginning to -!"

He cut himself off suddenly.

Mock was leaning against the door, dressed in a **French-Maid outfit**. Barrel turned bright red.

"Wha...what're you doing?"

_Oh, you moron! She know what she's doing! What're you, that idiot from 'The Room'?_

"Oh, you Dummy Bear."

Mock clicked her way across the room and sat on his lap, smiling and batting her eyelashes.

"Uh...are you...sure?" he asked, feeling it was necessary to ask her permission.

She nodded, snuggling closer to him.

Realizing how ridiculously excited he was, Barrel grinned and pulled Mock close.

"**Alright**."

ONE HOUR LATER

"We're back!" Lock said, throwing open the door. He was met with silence.

"...humph."

Shock strutted in, sucking on her Icee loudly. "They're probably playing some board game. You know how Mock is about checkers."

The devil put his arm around the witch. "Well, let's go surprise them."

The two peeked in Mock's room, but she wasn't there. They tiptoed to Barrel's room and threw open the door.

"BOO!"

Lock threw down his arms in irritation.

"Maybe they went for a walk or something." Shock said, equally disappointed. She went off to throw her Icee out.

Lock turned to follow her when he heard a soft groan. He whipped around in alarm as he saw Barrel rolling over in bed.

_Wait a minute._

He took a few steps closer and peered closer.

"...OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!" he screamed, acting like he was in Troll 2.

"What? What?" Shock yelped, running back in. Seeing what he did, she blanched, then reddened, then blanched and reddened again, looking like a stoplight.

"Barrel...Barrel, wake up." she whispered.

"..."

"BARREL, WAKE UP SO I CAN **KILL** YOU!" Lock snapped.

The candy-lover sat in alarm. "GAH! What?"

Mock looked up sleepily. "Hmm?"

"YOU SON OF A BITCH! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

Barrel winced under Lock's harsh words. He knew how insane the devil could get when he got angry, and he looked even more enraged now than he ever had before.

"I...I'm sorry..."

"I'M THE BIGGEST PIMP IN TOWN AND I HAVEN'T BEEN LAID **ONCE**! YOU'RE BOTH BARELY EIGHTEEN AND YOU'RE ALREADY SHOVING YOUR JUNK IN HER TRUNK! WHAT THE HELL, MAN?"

Barrel pulled the blanket up over his purple face. "I'm sorry..."

Lock clenched his hands into fists. "DAMN RIGHT YOU'RE SORRY!"

He stomped out. Shock opened her mouth to say something, closed it, then opened it again.

"That was kinda dumb of you guys..." she murmured.

The sound of the trapdoor slamming resonated throughout the house.

"Lock? Lock! Wait, Lock!"

Shock ran to the window. "Lock, come back! LOCK!"

But it was too late; he was already gone.


	8. Unpleasant Surprises

Unpleasant Surprises

Lock felt tears streaming down his face as he ran through the town. He had no idea why he was crying; it just happened.

Eventually, he stopped beside Skellington Manor. Panting and sobbing, he kicked over a trash can.

"...goddammit..." he choked out. He slithered to the floor and had a good cry.

"...Lock?"

He looked up to see Amy and Tim standing by him. The ex-mummy scowled, but the redhead seemed very concerned.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." he sniffed. A sob slipped out and he covered it up with a cough.

"Are you sure?"

"Mmm-hmm."

Amy sat beside him worriedly. "How's...Mock?"

Lock inched away from her. "**Fine**."

She sighed. "I was hoping...you could tell her..."

Tim leaned against a trash can and knocked it over with a bang. A cat leapt out, yowling. Startled, Amy and Lock jumped up. She screamed in alarm, grabbing him and pulling him close.

Jack, as inconveniently as is possible, looked into the alley in surprise.

"Amy?"

Amy pulled away from Lock. "O-oh, h-hi dad." she stammered.

Jack looked up at Lock disdainfully. "And what is _he_ doing here?"

"N-nothing, he was just...uh..."

Jack folded his spindly arms. "You _freaks_ have been really bothersome these past few weeks. I think it's time I took this matter into my own hands."

"Dad, please." Amy implored him. "He didn't do anything, I swear."

Lock narrowed his eyes. "Haven't you done enough already?"

Jack snorted. "Like what?"

"You **killed** Oogie Boogie! Do you know how heartbroken Mock was?"

Jack frowned. "Killed? What are you talking about?"

"Oh, don't play coy - we saw the note."

"What note?"

Amy blinked, confused. "But Jack was never near the Old Oogie Home that night we fought. He just went to get more punch when the fight started."

Lock hesitated. _Would they lie to us? Or is this the truth?_

"...then...who killed Oogie?"

"I dunno, but it wasn't Jack or any of the Skellingtons." Tim said.

Lock fished in his pocket and pulled out the note they had found on Oogie's desk. "But...we found this..."

Amy inspected the note. "That's not dad's handwriting! He would never write that messy!"

Lock blinked. "No one was home that night...who could have...?"

He stiffened at a memory. When he had been leaving to go back to his room, he had felt really _cold_. When he had glanced at the thermostat, it had read 35 degrees.

"...does this name ring a bell?" Lock asked, whispering in Jack's ear.

The Pumpkin King started. "How do you know about him?"

"Who?" Amy blinked.

Lock snapped his fingers. "I've got it! I know what happened to Oogie!"

Suddenly, the sound of an engine revving began to get louder. Lock's motorcycle stopped, with Mock, Barrel and Shock on it.

"Lock! Get on!" Shock said hurriedly, noticing the fury beginning to grow on Mock's face.

"Wait...I need to tell you something..."

"No time! Just get on!" Barrel said.

"But...it wasn't Jack! Jack didn't kill Oogie!"

Mock's eyes widened. "What?"

Amy turned pleadingly. "It wasn't him, I swear!"

Mock tightened her grip on the handlebars. "...no...I don't...I won't...I won't believe it! You're **lying**! We saw the note!"

Before anyone could react, she grabbed Amy and sped off. Shock, not ready for the sudden burst of speed, was knocked off.

"Shock!"

"I'm fine, I'm fine...but I don't think Amy will be for long."

Indeed she was right, as Amy, coming to her senses, began to fight back.

"Let go of me!"

"Not till you know what it's like to lose your father to someone you thought you could trust!"

Barrel glanced back. Something about Lock's tone he had said what he had seemed truthful.

"Mock...maybe we should -."

"DON'T TELL YOU BELIEVE THEM!" Mock exclaimed disbelievingly.

Before Barrel could react, she shoved him off the bike.

"I THOUGHT I COULD TRUST YOU!"

Barrel stood up, rubbing his head. "But...you can..."

Mock kicked the bike into high gear and took off with a second glance.

"Barrel! You okay?"

"I'm fine...what made you say it ain't Jack who killed Oogie?"

"Because that wasn't Jack's handwriting on the note! And Jack wasn't anywhere near the Old Oogie Home when Oogie died!"

"But then...who?"

"I think I know."

"Lemme go, Mock!"

Mock unceremoniously threw Amy onto the floor and tied her tightly to the wall by her hands.

"You'll pay for this, Mock!"

"Maybe, but I'll at least have my compensation."

She headed into the other room. Amy waited until she had left to start struggling. She smartly dragged the rope against the edge of the machine that started the Roulette several times, and it slowly cut away. Rubbing her skeleton wrists, she started to sneak out when an icy grip tightened on her shoulder.

"You aren't going anywhere, missy."

Amy turned and gasped when she saw what Mock was wearing - an Oogie costume.

"I'm going to get revenge for my dad..." she began as Amy took a step back fearfully.

"If it's the last thing..."

Amy tightened her grip on an iron rod behind her.

"I DO!"

Mock sprang forward as Amy held up the iron rod defensively. Knife met fireplace pitchfork with a metallic clang.

**The battle had began**.

As Lock, Shock, Barrel, Tim and Jack raced through the jack-o-lantern shaped hole, Barrel looked around frantically.

"Which way, Barrel?"

"This way!"

They scrambled towards the southwest, panting and gasping. Lock rubbed a cramp in his side but didn't stop.

"There it is!" Barrel pointed at the tent. They ran in.

Bloodcurdlingly scary laughter echoed in the place. The sounds of a scuffle could be heard.

"Wait..." Barrel held up his hand as he peeked around the corner.

It was **Rasha**! She was bloody and scraped, gasping and groaning.

"C'mon, little demon! Come get your /pwecious neckwace/!"

Rasha sprang at him again and he smacked her with a wrench.

"HAHAHA! Not so powerful without your necklace, are you!"

Grinning, Dr. Ghost held the sparkling necklace over his head.

"Come now, miss, you can't be /that/ tired! Let's see you jump!"

Rasha weakly pulled herself up and tried again, but this time the wrench hit her head. She crashed to the ground, blood flooding from her head.

_Demons and humans bit by demons all have regenerative magic, and Dekos. However, we can't hold our magic properly, like the other demon-related being I just mentioned. Hence, we must always have a Demon Stone near us. It can be a necklace, a bracelet, an earring, you name it. Any size, any shape; all Demon Stones contain an infinite amount of magic. If I ever lost my necklace, I would completely vulnerable to injury._

Barrel drew a sharp breath. "Oh no..."

Lock winced at Dr. Ghost's laughter. "We gotta help her!"

Jack drew himself up. "If it's Dr. Ghost, I will be willing to help you defeat him."

"Me too!" Tim agreed.

"Then let's go!"

Mock and Amy, still engaged in their own battle, were slicing and swiping and swinging their tools at each other. Twice did Mock's knife slashed Amy's clothes, and once did Amy's mini pitchfork smack Mock's eye, bruising it painfully.

Meanwhile, the others were busy with Dr. Ghost and his Kree. Barrel was flung against a wall by the Kree. He slithered to the floor as the icy-eyed cats fluttered closer.

_Argh! We're running out of time!_

Then, he noticed something.

Near where he had fallen was a rope. Following its path with his eyes, Barrel realized it led straight to a chandelier **directly above Dr. Ghost**.

"Jack, look out!" he yelped as he sprang at the rope, tugging it loose. Jack stepped back in alarm as the chandelier came down, crushing the phantom beneath it.

The Kree vanished with a loud 'paf' as Rasha's necklace rolled down to the floor. Barrel grabbed it and hurriedly tied to Rasha's neck.

One spark-fest later, she cracked open a red eye and grinned.

"Hey you."

The sound of scratching came from a door nearby.

"Hey! What's going on out there?"

The original Boogie's Boys, recognizing that voice immediately and ran for the door. After opening it with the doctor's keys, Oogie staggered out, covered in dust and spider webs.

"**Oogie**!" cried the henchmen, wrapping him in a hug.

"Oh…hello…" replied Oogie, dazed.

"Quick! We need to get back to Halloween Town!"

"Wha…why…?"

"Mock! She grabbed Amy on her way back to the Old Oogie Home because she wouldn't believe me when I said Jack hadn't killed you!"

Oogie snapped out it immediately. "Well, then, let's go!"

Rasha shook her head. "You'll never get there in time by foot!"

"But Graymalkin can't carry _all_ of us!"

Rasha smiled and held up a hand; black fur began to sprout all over her body as she grew and shifted in size. Her face lengthened as she shifted and grew into a **demon.**

Unable to speak human, she moved her head towards her back and growled.

Lock: "…yeah, you're riding her, Barrel. Since you're so good at it."

Meanwhile, Mock was running out of steam. Amy was no stranger to battle, but Mock hadn't had nearly as much practice. Bruised and battered from too many glancing blows, she was running out energy…

…and ideas.

"Just give it up, Mock! I don't want to hurt you anymore! Please! Just listen to me!"

"No…you're lying…" Mock gasped, gripping her side.

"Mock, please! Would I lie to you? I'm your _half-sister_, for goodness' sake! What would I possibly gain from lying to you?"

Mock leaned against the wall, breathing in short, labored breaths.

"But if Jack didn't do it…who did?"

"MOCK!"

She turned in alarm as Barrel ran in. "Don't do anything! We have something to show you!"

Oogie hurried in, panting. "Mock!"

Mock dropped the knife in alarm. "What…?"

"See! I told you Jack didn't kill him! Dr. Ghost snuck in and tricked us by putting a decoy. He was trying to get me by using Jack's name."

Mock wobbled, shuddering. "But…"

Oogie wrapped her tight in a hug.

"Honey, don't cry…" he whispered.

Mock hadn't even realized she was crying.


	9. Miles of Smiles

Miles of Smiles

Mock became dreadfully sick after that night. One would _thin_k she would be overjoyed at the fact that her father was back and her feud with the Skellingtons now over, perhaps forever, but all the events of the past few weeks came back to hit her with the force of a sledgehammer, knocking the wind out of her and putting her in misery.

The henchmen didn't know what to do; Oogie insisted that they leave her be, but they felt torn.

"She won't get better any faster if you pester her. She'll come around soon - Mock was always a fast recover-er."

Despite this, Oogie didn't trust in his own words. He was certain his adopted daughter was **severely traumatized,** and he knew what it was like to have his would-be heart repeatedly battered.

After three days of Mock barely coming out of her room, Barrel fretting drove him near-insane. Having had enough, he leapt to his feet and pushed open the door to Mock's room.

"MOCK! Get up, right now!" he spat.

Lock and Shock stared at him, gaping. "Barrel! What the hell's gotten into you?"

The candy-lover ignore them. He stomped over and yanked the covers off of his girlfriend.

"I said, get **UP!**"

Mock looked up at him somberly. "Can't you leave me alone?" she whispered.

Barrel grabbed and pulled her into a sitting position. "What's wrong with you? You should be the happiest girl alive now! You have a boyfriend and two best friends, your dad isn't dead, your old enemy has completely forgiven you - so what's the problem?"

She paused for a moment before leaning against him, burying her face in his shirt. Realizing how harsh and unforgiving his words must have been, Barrel ashamedly reconciled.

"I'm sorry, Mock, I don't know what got into me. I...?"

Mock started to shake and shiver, tittering like a little kid. Her giggles turned to full blown laughs.

"Oh, Barrel, you _Dummy Bear_! Don't ever do that again, or I might bust a gut from laughing!" she cried, still collapsing in hysterics. "It doesn't suit you at all!"

Barrel grinned, blushing. "I know, I know..."

Lock snorted. "At least you got her laughing again."

Shock smiled. "Say, why don't we go get some lunch? I heard they're opening a new ice cream shop in town."

A cheer flew up.

As Mock licked her strawberry ice cream, she slipped her hand into Barrel's with a smile.

"I need to tell you something, Barrel."

Barrel licked his chocolate scoop as a more got all over his face. "Mmm-hmm?"

"Why don't you wipe that chocolate off your face? You're **sweet enough** without it."

Barrel chuckled and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand.

**THE END**


End file.
